Poolmania VII (2011)

TTFE Poolmania had only its fourth ever winner in its seventh tournament as Chris Phillips beat previous winner James Carling in a thrilling final.

I was actually away on this occasion but I have heard all about it from the champ, who was ever so modest in his victory! To his credit this tournament was a tough one to win, simply on the change of format which made it tougher in the latter stages. It was a momentous occasion as a Quarter Final round was adopted for the first ever time, which meant eight players progressed into the knockout stages.

Progressing as runner up in his group to Dale Thomas after a playoff decider, Phillips dispatched Haydn Gleed in the quarter finals. In the semi-finals he met old adversary and Poolmania Grandee himself, Greg Davies. After tossing aside the four time champ, he met Carling in the final, who had already finished off Thomas in the quarters and the promising Callum Gigg in the semis. Phillips managed to take on the Poolmania V champion and won the competition for himself, clearing the way for a T-shirt brandishing ‘TTFE Poolmania Champion 2011’ which is worn with pride most Thursday nights at Sophia Gardens. Davies grabbed third place by defeating Callum Gigg and winning his money back.

Poolmania VII was also a great tournament for Tom Payne, who reached the knockout stages for the first time by beating David Huckle in his final game and allowing him to qualify as one of the best third placed players. Despite meeting Davies in the quarters, this was a great result in boosting the seedings. Haydn Gleed also looked promising with 2/3 wins in the group stage, including a scalp over the eventual finalist Carling, but met his end in the last eight against the eventual winner.

Do you have any memories of this Poolmania tournament? Put them in the comments below!